Beautiful Simplicity
by ConfessionsOfAGeekyFangirl
Summary: "David wanted to pull away from Jack, but at the same time he also wanted to just stay there, pressed close to him, until the rest of the school year was over, and then maybe even longer than that; maybe forever. This right there, him and Jack, was just sort of beautifully simple." AU. Full summary inside. Slash. Javid.
1. Beautiful Simplicity

**A/N: This is an excerpt of what could be a much longer story, which would be an AU of the spectacular novel _Dating Sarah Cooper._ I've had this idea ever since I first read the book back in December, and I really, really love it. The problem is that I am complete rubbish at writing multi-chapter stories, because they take me FOREVER. So, I just wrote this one scene as an experiment to see how well this idea might turn out.**

 **Because this scene takes place later in the novel, I'll give you some vital background info so you're not lost: Because of reasons, Jack and David have ended up in a fake relationship scheme that is turning out to be WAY more complicated than either of them expected. They've had to endure a lot of homophobia from almost everyone at their school, and David is trying to comfort Jack, who is more hurt by this than he's willing to admit.**

 **Disclaimer: _Newsies_ belongs to Disney. _Dating Sarah Cooper_ belongs to Sarah Maley, who deserves extra credit, since I kept most of the best lines from the original scene. It's really less of me rewriting and more of me reworking it to fit the characters.**

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Beautiful Simplicity

David sighed. "Jack." Slowly, he reached over to place a hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack's arms stayed crossed against his chest, but he lifted his head just enough to meet David's eyes.

"Look, I know that it feels like the whole world's against us right now, but all those people? They won't matter in another year," David reminded him. "They're all idiots. They don't know you like I do. Like all our friends do," he added.

With those words, Jack visibly relaxed. He let out a short, low chuckle and tossed David an easy grin, his eyes fond. "You know, that's what makes you such a good guy, Dave," he remarked, throwing an arm around David shoulders, and, as painfully cliché as it sounded, David could swear that it made his heart skip a beat.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just…I dunno. Half the time I feel like I could kill someone or something, and you'd still say everyone else was wrong about me. You just—" Jack shook his head slightly. "I guess you just kinda make me feel like I'm worth more than I am."

"You—" David started.

"I know, I know." He paused, and then added, "But you know, in psychology they call that 'Unconditional Positive Regard' or whatever, and I'm pretty sure it's only meant for therapeutic settings. Otherwise it's just unhealthy."

"Well, then I'll gladly be unhealthy," David declared. Jack's smile widened when he said it, and before David even knew what was happening, Jack was pulling him into a hug.

David's breath caught jaggedly in his throat and his pulse began to skyrocket as Jack's arms slid easily around him, and there was nothing to do but hug back and pray that Jack wouldn't notice.

This was nothing new, of course. In their twelve plus years of best friendship, he and Jack had hugged dozens—no, probably hundreds of times, without so much as a second thought from either of them. But _this._ This, in that one exact instant, was so inexplicably different from every last one of them.

David wanted to pull away from Jack, but at the same time he also wanted to just stay there, pressed close to him, until the rest of the school year was over, and then maybe even longer than that; maybe forever. He was tired, so tired of all of the stress and the drama and the lies of the past few months, but this right there, he and Jack, was just sort of beautifully simple. Two best friends against the world. They were connected at the chest, close enough that David could feel Jack's heart beating almost in time against his own; close enough that David could inhale the scent of soap and sweat and outdoors that was just so familiarly _Jack._

And then David felt Jack's breathy little laugh tickle at his ear, and Jack's arms tightened momentarily around him, and David could feel his hand tightening on his back as Jack's fingers pulled the fabric of his shirt into a clump in his hand.

And it was in that moment David realized that he was _that_ loser friend who would inevitably end up heartbroken and alone, and that he and Jack were actually not simple at all. Maybe they never had been.

Maybe he'd loved Jack since the start of this whole fake relationship mess—or maybe he'd loved him before. Maybe he'd loved Jack when he was about to leave to stay with his mother in New Mexico last summer, right when they were saying their goodbyes. Maybe he'd loved him back when that photo of David staring at him was taken in sophomore year. Hell, maybe he'd even loved him way back in preschool, when their friendship was sealed with that very first spit-palmed handshake. Or maybe he hadn't.

But that didn't matter.

David certainly loved him now.

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 **A/N: So, yay? Nay? Would you guys like to see more of this? If so, then please let me know. As always, reviews give me life.**


	2. Update

This is just a quick update on the progress of this little story. I said that I might write a full, multi-chapter fic if the reception towards this oneshot was good, but I realized that I never actually gave you guys an answer to that. So, I'm here today to announce that yes, I am going to write more. You guys and your feedback has been so wonderful, and I want to thank you all for it. This will be my first full-length project, though, so I'll warn you now that it's probably going to take me a long time. But I want to do this, guys. I really, really want to do this. I can feel the story bubbling up inside me, just bursting to get out. It's going to be great.

I also wanted to let you all know that I've decided to take suggestions for some character names and other bits if you guys are interested. I thought it would be really fun to do sort of an audience-participation thing with this-and, also, I just suck at naming characters. The OC female antagonist is actually going to be called _Mary Sue_. Really.

Anyway, because the story is set in modern times, all of the characters are going to need real names. I've got most of them figured out already, but there are some that I'm really stuck on. This is where you come in. If you have an idea for a name for one of the characters listed below, you can leave it in the comments/via PM (or, in the comments on AO3, _or,_ in my ask box/via PM on Tumblr-whichever method you're most comfortable with or have easiest access to). If I choose your name, then I'll be sure to give you credit for it in the notes of the actual story.

 **MAJOR CHARACTERS WHO NEED NAMES**

1\. Sniper (female). She needs a first and a last name.

2\. Bumlets. He needs a first name. I'm literally just going to make his last name Bumlets.

3\. Mary Sue. She needs a last name. I'm tempted to not give her one at all since I think it would be funny, but certain events in the story probably won't make sense if her surname is never given. It should either be really generic or, like, really obnoxiously "unique." Essentially, whoever can come up with the most Mary Sue-ish last name wins.

 **MINOR/BACKGROUND CHARACTERS WHO NEED NAMES**

1\. Patrick and his mother. They need a last name.

2\. Medda has a wife. She needs a first name.

3\. Jack has a horse. It's only mentioned once in the first chapter and I have spent countless hours trying to come up with the perfect name. As of now, the horse is called Sir Lord Bartholomew Winston III. If anybody can come up with something better (and by better, I do mean the most "Jack Kelly Actually Named His Horse This"-sounding name possible), then I would love to hear it.

 **OTHER STUFF**

1\. I need some really terrible lesbian fiction titles. It's a plot only real criteria is that the endings have to be horrifically sad. Hilariously stupid/melodramatic titles would be appreciated. They can be real books, or you can make them up for fun.

2\. The title of the story. As of now, I'm just calling it "Dating Jack Kelly," but if someone comes up with something better, I might change it.

That's it for now, I think. I hope that some of you might be interested in doing this, and can have some real fun with it.

Thank you in advance and until next time, my lovely readers.

-Chloë/Confessions :)


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